# 2024 North Carolina Courage season

The 2024 North Carolina Courage season was the team's eighth season as a professional women's soccer team. The Courage played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States. They finished the regular season in fifth place and qualified for the playoffs, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by the fourth-seeded Kansas City Current.

## Background

In the 2023 National Women's Soccer League season, the Courage were on top of the league standings in July but finished the season in 3rd place, then fell in the first round of the NWSL playoffs to eventual champions NJ/NY Gotham FC. Forward Kerolin scored 10 goals and was named the NWSL MVP. The Courage won the NWSL Challenge Cup for the second year in a row.

## Team
### Squad

    As of August 21, 2024.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
| 1 | GK | Casey Murphy | United States |
| 2 | FW | Ashley Sanchez | United States |
| 3 | DF | Kaleigh Kurtz | United States |
| 5 | FW | Haley Hopkins | United States |
| 6 | MF | Narumi Miura | Japan |
| 7 | DF | Malia Berkely | United States |
| 8 | MF | Brianna Pinto | United States |
| 9 | FW | Kerolin | Brazil |
| 10 | MF | Denise O'Sullivan (captain) | Republic of Ireland |
| 11 | DF | Felicitas Rauch | Germany |
| 13 | DF | Ryan Williams | United States |
| 14 | FW | Tyler Lussi | United States |
| 16 | MF | Riley Jackson | United States |
| 17 | MF | Dani Weatherholt | United States |
| 18 | DF | Sydney Collins | Canada |
| 19 | MF | Landy Mertz | United States |
| 20 | FW | Olivia Wingate | United States |
| 22 | FW | Cortnee Vine | Australia |
| 23 | FW | Bianca St-Georges | Canada |
| 24 | DF | Estelle Johnson | Cameroon |
| 25 | MF | Meredith Speck | United States |
| 27 | DF | Maycee Bell | United States |
| 33 | DF | Charlotte McLean | Australia |
| 34 | MF | Manaka Matsukubo | Japan |
| 44 | GK | Marisa Bova | United States |
| 51 | GK | Hensley Hancuff | United States |
| 77 | FW | Aline Gomes | Brazil |
| 94 | MF | Victoria Pickett | Canada |

### Staff

    As of April 29, 2023.
Executive :
| Chairman | Steve Malik |
| President | Francie Gottsegen |
| Chief soccer officer | Curt Johnson |
| Assistant general manager | Bobby Hammond |
| Coaching ||
| Head coach | Sean Nahas |
| Assistant coach | Nathan Thackeray |
| Assistant coach | Emma Thomson |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 3 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 26 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 41 | 20 | +21 | 56 | Playoffs |
| 4 | Kansas City Current | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 57 | 31 | +26 | 55 | Playoffs |
| 5 | North Carolina Courage | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 39 | Playoffs |
| 6 | Portland Thorns FC | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 37 | 35 | +2 | 34 | Playoffs |
| 7 | Bay FC | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 31 | 41 | −10 | 34 | Playoffs |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: November 2, 2024. Source: NWSLsoccer.com

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Stadium | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | D | W | W | W | L | W | W | D | L | W | W | D | L | L |
| Position | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |

### Playoffs

The Courage clinched the fifth position in the table and qualified for the championship playoffs, where they faced and lost to the fourth-seeded Kansas City Current.

## NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup

The Courage finished first in Group E and were the 4th-highest ranked group winners, qualifying them to advance to the tournament semifinals, where they lost to the Kansas City Current.

### Group stage matches
#### Group stage standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | NC | LOU | ORL | MON |
| 1 | North Carolina Courage | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 | Advances to knockout stage | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| 2 | Racing Louisville FC | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| 3 | Orlando Pride | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 |
| 4 | Monterrey | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 1 | | 0–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | — |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: August 6, 2024. Source: NWSLsoccer.com

### Knockout stage
## Squad statistics

    As of Match played November 9, 2024

### Appearances

Only players who have made appearances are listed. Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances after the + symbol where applicable.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | NWSL | NWSL | Playoffs | Playoffs | Summer Cup | Summer Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | USA | Casey Murphy | 27 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | GK | USA | Marisa Bova | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | USA | Kaleigh Kurtz | 31 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | USA | Malia Berkely | 30 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | GER | Felicitas Rauch | 26 | 1 | 21+4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | USA | Ryan Williams | 30 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | USA | Maycee Bell | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | AUS | Charlotte McLean | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 2 | MF | USA | Ashley Sanchez | 31 | 6 | 25+1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | JPN | Narumi Miura | 30 | 0 | 23+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | USA | Brianna Pinto | 24 | 3 | 9+11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | IRL | Denise O'Sullivan | 26 | 1 | 21+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | USA | Riley Jackson | 22 | 1 | 3+15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 1 |
| 17 | MF | USA | Dani Weatherholt | 25 | 1 | 8+13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | USA | Landy Mertz | 4 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 |
| 25 | MF | USA | Meredith Speck | 16 | 2 | 1+10 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | JPN | Manaka Matsukubo | 21 | 3 | 11+6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1+2 | 1 |
| 94 | MF | CAN | Victoria Pickett | 23 | 0 | 6+13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 5 | FW | USA | Haley Hopkins | 28 | 4 | 18+5 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+2 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | BRA | Kerolin | 6 | 1 | 2+3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | USA | Tyler Lussi | 26 | 4 | 20+2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | USA | Olivia Wingate | 13 | 2 | 1+9 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | AUS | Cortnee Vine | 5 | 1 | 2+2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | CAN | Bianca St-Georges | 22 | 3 | 8+13 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | FW | BRA | Aline Gomes | 8 | 1 | 5+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goals

| Rank | No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | NWSL | Playoffs | Summer Cup | Total |
| 1 | 2 | MF | | Ashley Sanchez | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | 14 | FW | | Tyler Lussi | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | 5 | FW | | Haley Hopkins | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | 8 | MF | | Brianna Pinto | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | 23 | FW | | Bianca St-Georges | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | 34 | MF | | Manaka Matsukubo | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | 25 | MF | | Meredith Speck | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | 20 | FW | | Olivia Wingate | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | 7 | DF | | Malia Berkely | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | 77 | FW | | Aline Gomes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | 9 | FW | | Kerolin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | 3 | DF | | Kaleigh Kurtz | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | 10 | MF | | Denise O'Sullivan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | 11 | DF | | Felicitas Rauch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | 22 | FW | | Cortnee Vine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | 17 | MF | | Dani Weatherholt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | 16 | MF | | Riley Jackson | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | 19 | MF | | Landy Mertz | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 34 | 0 | 5 | 39 |

### Assists

| Rank | No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | NWSL | Playoffs | Summer Cup | Total |
| 1 | 2 | MF | | Ashley Sanchez | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | 7 | DF | | Malia Berkely | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | 10 | MF | | Denise O'Sullivan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | 25 | MF | | Meredith Speck | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | 14 | FW | | Tyler Lussi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | 8 | MF | | Brianna Pinto | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | 20 | FW | | Olivia Wingate | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | 5 | FW | | Haley Hopkins | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | 34 | MF | | Manaka Matsukubo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 94 | MF | | Victoria Pickett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 23 | FW | | Bianca St-Georges | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | 13 | DF | | Ryan Williams | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 21 | 0 | 4 | 25 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | No. | Nat. | Name | NWSL | Playoffs | Summer Cup | Total |
| 1 | 1 | | Casey Murphy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | 44 | | Marisa Bova | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 6 | 0 | 1 | 7 |

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | NWSL | NWSL | NWSL | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Summer Cup | Summer Cup | Summer Cup | Total | Total | Total |
| 1 | GK | | Casey Murphy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | MF | | Ashley Sanchez | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Kaleigh Kurtz | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | FW | | Haley Hopkins | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | | Narumi Miura | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | | Denise O'Sullivan | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | | Felicitas Rauch | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | | Ryan Williams | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | | Tyler Lussi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | | Bianca St-Georges | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | | Meredith Speck | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 94 | MF | | Victoria Pickett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 28 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 0 |

## Transactions
### 2024 NWSL Draft

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2024 NWSL Draft was held on January 12, 2024.
| R | P | Player | Pos. | College | Status |
| 2 | 24 | Talia Staude | DF | University of Virginia | Signed to a three-year contract. |
| 3 | 40 | Julia Dorsey | DF | University of North Carolina | Signed to a three-year contract. |
| 4 | 52 | Landy Mertz | MF | University of Pittsburgh | Signed to a three-year contract. |

### Re-signings

| Date | Player | Pos. | Notes |
| November 17, 2023 | Marisa Bova | GK | Re-signed to a two-year contract. |
| December 4, 2023 | Tess Boade | FW | Re-signed to a two-year contract. |
| February 7, 2024 | Tyler Lussi | FW | Re-signed to a two-year contract with a mutual option. |
| March 5, 2024 | Meredith Speck | MF | Re-signed to a one-year contract. |

### Loans in

| Date | Player | Pos. | Previous club | Fee/notes | Ref. |
| July 27, 2023 | Manaka Matsukubo | MF | MyNavi Sendai | Loaned until June 2024. Courage have option to transfer playing rights to the club on a permanent basis following the loan period. Signed permanently on June 27, 2024. | |

### Loans out

| Date | Player | Pos. | Destination club | Fee/notes |
| August 15, 2023 | Hensley Hancuff | GK | Växjö DFF | Loaned through the 2023-24 Damallsvenskan season. Recalled from loan on January 4, 2024. |
| January 31, 2024 | Mille Gejl | FW | Montpellier HSC | Loaned through June 2024. Montpellier have option to purchase contract following the loan period. |
| August 9, 2024 | Julia Dorsey | DF | Dallas Trinity FC | Loaned through the remainder of the 2024 NWSL season. |
| August 20, 2024 | Talia Staude | DF | Tampa Bay Sun FC | Loaned through December 2024. |

### Transfers in

| Date | Player | Pos. | Previous club | Fee/notes |
| January 8, 2024 | Bianca St-Georges | FW | Chicago Red Stars | Free agent signed to a two-year contract with a mutual option. |
| January 12, 2024 | Ashley Sanchez | MF | Washington Spirit | Traded in exchange for the 5th overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft and $250,000 in allocation money. |
| January 16, 2024 | Dani Weatherholt | MF | Angel City FC | Free agent signed to a two-year contract. |
| January 17, 2024 | Felicitas Rauch | DF | VfL Wolfsburg | Acquired in exchange for an undisclosed transfer fee and signed to a two-year contract. |
| March 13, 2024 | Maya McCutcheon | DF | West Virginia Mountaineers | Preseason trialists signed to 2024 injury replacement contracts. |
| March 13, 2024 | Jenna Winebrenner | DF | Kansas City Current | Preseason trialists signed to 2024 injury replacement contracts. |
| June 14, 2024 | Cortnee Vine | FW | Sydney FC | Acquired via a free transfer and signed to a three-year contract. |
| June 17, 2024 | Charlotte McLean | DF | Sydney FC | Acquired via a free transfer and signed to a two-year contract. |
| June 27, 2024 | Manaka Matsukubo | MF | MyNavi Sendai | Loanee acquired permanently for an undisclosed transfer fee and signed to a two-year contract. |
| July 16, 2024 | Victoria Haugen | DF | Virginia Tech Hokies | Preseason trialist signed to a national team replacement contract. |
| July 30, 2024 | Aline Gomes | FW | Ferroviária | Acquired in exchange for an undisclosed transfer fee and signed to a three-year contract with an option. |
| August 21, 2024 | Maycee Bell | DF | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Traded in exchange for $80,000 in allocation money and $10,000 in intra-league transfer funds. |
| August 27, 2024 | Victoria Haugen | DF | Virginia Tech Hokies | Former replacement players signed to new national team replacement contracts. |
| August 27, 2024 | Maya McCutcheon | DF | West Virginia Mountaineers | Former replacement players signed to new national team replacement contracts. |

### Transfers out

| Date | Player | Pos. | Destination club | Fee/notes |
| November 20, 2023 | Emily Gray | MF | Utah Royals | Traded in exchange for $30,000 of allocation money and 2024 Expansion Protection from the Utah Royals. |
| November 20, 2023 | Frankie Tagliaferri | MF | Utah Royals | Traded in exchange for $30,000 of allocation money and 2024 Expansion Protection from the Utah Royals. |
| November 20, 2023 | Sarah Clark | DF | Canberra United FC | Out of contract. |
| November 20, 2023 | Emily Fox | DF | Arsenal | Free agent signing. |
| November 20, 2023 | Rikke Madsen | FW | Everton | Free agent signing. |
| November 20, 2023 | Kiki Pickett | DF | Bay FC | Free agent signing. |
| November 20, 2023 | Brittany Ratcliffe | FW | Washington Spirit | Free agent signing. |
| December 15, 2023 | Tess Boade | FW | Bay FC | Selected in the 2024 NWSL expansion draft. |
| December 15, 2023 | Katelyn Rowland | GK | Bay FC | Selected in the 2024 NWSL expansion draft. |
| March 21, 2024 | Rikako Kobayashi | MF | Tokyo Verdy Beleza | Mutual contract termination. |
| July 3, 2024 | Mille Gejl | FW | Crystal Palace | Mutual contract termination. |
| August 1, 2024 | Jenna Winebrenner | DF | Dallas Trinity FC | Waived. |
| August 21, 2024 | Victoria Haugen | DF | North Carolina Courage | Waived. |
| August 21, 2024 | Maya McCutcheon | DF | North Carolina Courage | Waived. |
| September 16, 2024 | Maya McCutcheon | DF | Wellington Phoenix FC | Waived. |
| October 3, 2024 | Victoria Haugen | DF | | Waived. |

### Retirements

| Date | Player | Pos. | Ref. |
| May 10, 2024 | Clara Schilke | MF | |

### Preseason trialists

Trialists are non-rostered invitees during preseason and are not automatically signed. The Courage released their preseason roster on January 29, 2024. The club later added six more non-rostered invitees to their roster on February 9, 2024.
| Player | Pos. | Previous club | Notes |
| Rylee Baisden | FW | Perth Glory FC | Not signed. |
| Giovanna DeMarco | MF | San Diego Wave FC | Not signed. |
| Bella Gaetino | FW | Michigan Hawks | Not signed. |
| Victoria Haugen | DF | Virginia Tech Hokies | Signed to a national team replacement contract on July 16, 2024. |
| Emma Hawkins | FW | Oklahoma Sooners | Not signed. |
| Lauren Kellett | GK | TCU Horned Frogs | Not signed. |
| Maya McCutcheon | DF | West Virginia Mountaineers | Signed to an injury replacement contract on March 13, 2024. |
| Jenna Winebrenner | DF | Kansas City Current | Signed to an injury replacement contract on March 13, 2024. |
| Cayla White | GK | Virginia Cavaliers | Not signed. |